With a flurry of holiday parties filling up your calendar for the rest of the year, naturally, what you’ll wear to each event is at the top of your mind. And while we’ve helped you sort that out with these incredibly cool trends to try and dresses to shop, today, we’re focusing our attention on the one piece that’s sure to solve your outfit puzzle this holiday season: your handbag. But exactly which bag you’ll carry to all of these festivities is a tough choice indeed. What will be the perfect piece to complement the rest of your look, hold only the essentials, and perhaps even spark a conversation?
From crystal to velvet and clutches to shoulder bags, you’re sure to find an evening bag that suits you. Go on to see and shop the 40 festive evening bags that will carry you to every holiday party from now until January.
Best Satin Evening Bags
Starting off strong with my personal favorite.
Worthy of a black-tie gala.
Satin may be festive, but this is a bag you'll be reaching for long after the holidays are over.
Burgundy satin for a rich, opulent aesthetic.
A ring handle is so useful for being hands-free at the function.
Best Crystal Evening Bags
Simply put, this bag is iconic.
The perfect size for an evening bag, if you ask me.
Superfans of Staud's Tommy bags have a new lavish style to obsess over.
The unexpected baby-blue hue is what makes this Prada bag.
This price is definitely right.
Is it just me, or do the Tory Burch bags just keep getting better and better?
Wear the two bags together or separately, it's like getting three bags in one go.
Best Velvet Evening Bags
This bags screams royalty in rich scarlet velvet.
The celebrity-adored Maysale mules meet a sleek clutch shape.
This navy-blue hue is such an underrated but chic alternative to a black bag.
This looks exactly like a vintage bag my grandmother passed down to me.
Sometimes all you need is a petite black bag, though.
Like a perfectly wrapped present.
Best Leopard-Print Evening Bags
Very Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy coded.
No, like, exactly.
Jacquemus can, quite literally, do no wrong.
The trendiest $80 you'll spend all season.
This shape is everything to me.
Best Croc-Embossed Evening Bags
This honestly competes with most of the designer bags on this list, and that's saying a lot.
The shape is sublime.
Wear it as a clutch or fasten the strap for a crossbody or shoulder-bag moment.
Sleek top-handle clutches are what all the cool celebs are carrying these days.
Charming.
Best Leather Evening Bags
Can't eat, can't sleep, can't think—too busy losing it over the Le Teckel clutch.
An immediate conversation starter.
This bag is designed to be worn as a shoulder bag or held upright as a cylinder shape depending on where you hold the strap. How savvy.
The color of the season couldn't look any better coated onto Savette's insider-loved pochette.
Several of our editors own the Demellier New York Tote, and I imagine they'll clamor to get their hands on the brand's timely East-West update.
Red hot.
Well, hello, gorgeous.
Best Sculptural Evening Bags
Zara, girl, you didn't have to go this hard. And yet you did!
Compliments incoming.
This feels different than any other clutch on the market.
So good they'll hang it in the Louvre.
From holiday parties to weddings and back again.
-
Not Snakeskin, Not Croc—These Two Underrated Animal Prints Are Quietly Staging a Fashion CoupFrom J.Crew to Khaite.
-
Sorry, Crewneck Tees—in 2026, Everyone With Taste Will Be Layering Sweaters Like ThisThe recipe for a perfect winter outfit.
-
My Mom Only Shops Affordable Fashion—I Sent Her These 27 Chic, Rich-LookingReplica Store FindsEverything is under $150.
-
H&M Just Dropped a $40 Version of The Row's Winter Flats I Keep Seeing on Chic New YorkersA sellout is imminent.
-
Prediction: The Coolest Dressers Will Wear This Pretty Trend to 2025 Holiday Parties Instead of LBDsTake a cue from Brittany Snow.
-
The 30 Items Set to Define Winter 2025 FashionWhat to buy before the temperatures drop.
-
The Ashley Olsen Way to Make Simple Black Coats Look Chic, Not BoringIt's so easy, yet so impactful.
-
I'm a Senior Shopping Editor—29 Pieces I'm Eyeing Ahead of Black Friday That Will Get You Envious Stares and ComplimentsThese are guaranteed to elevate your wardrobe.
